12 of the Best Ways to Enjoy Summer at Lincoln Park Zoo

Summer is here—it’s the best time to enjoy Lincoln Park Zoo during weather perfect for strolling through the gardens and seeing the animals, attending special events and tours, and experiencing so much more! Here are some of the highlights going on throughout the season and some tips for making the most of your zoo trip.

1. Visit the black eastern rhino calf, Hazina, and her mom, Kapuki.

Kapuki and her daughter Hazina, born March 19, can be found at the south rhino habitat at Regenstein African Journey. They have the choice to be outdoors or inside out of view but tend to explore more in the late mornings.

2. Attend an event to enjoy a fun, exclusive evening at the zoo.

Events offer another way to support the zoo while experiencing it in a novel way—trying wine samples at Summer Wine Fest: Flights of Fancy, enjoying a tour of the accredited gardens during Sunset Garden Tours all summer, hanging with friends at a retro-themed party this weekend, starting a new knitting or painting project at Adults Night Out: Crafted in August, or enjoying improv classes and kid-friendly music at Family Fun Furi-day tomorrow night!

3. Take advantage of extended hours.

The zoo is free and open 365 days a year. Until after Labor Day, the zoo opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. on weekdays. On weekends and holidays, it remains open until 7 p.m. Please note: Zoo buildings open at 10 a.m. and close a half-hour before the zoo does. And Farm-in-the-Zoo is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

4. Enjoy zoo demonstrations about care and cognition or help care for farm animals.

This summer, you can watch a penguin feeding, discover how seals train, find out how zoo researchers learn about primate cognition, attend a giraffe training, find about the conservation efforts to save the Jamaican iguana, and care for farm animals. For a list of the events going on each day, check out the zoo’s home page at lpzoo.org.

Image by Violetta Dominek

5. Let your kids learn and play!

For the zoo’s younger visitors, experience fun, child-led ways to discover and explore nature. Play! at Farm-in-the-Zoo takes place weekly on Wednesday mornings, while Nature Play stations can be found around the zoo on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30–noon starting on July 8. You can also practice Reading With the Animals at Farm-in-the-Zoo on Mondays at 10:30 a.m.–noon starting July 8.

6. Visit all the new arrivals, from grizzly bears to a red panda.

Along with the most adorable baby rhino, the zoo has other new arrivals you should visit. Bees are now residing at Farm-in-the-Zoo for the season. Grizzly bears Ash and Lexi, who arrived last fall, can often be seen in their habitat on the north side of the zoo. Sichuan takin brothers Porter and Taiyang have been here since the spring—watch them use the new climbing structure in their habitat! Mystie the North American river otter is the latest resident of Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo, and Qi the red panda can be seen on the south side of Pepper Family Wildlife Center.

7. Don’t miss local urban wildlife at the zoo.

If you love the wildlife of Chicago, you’ll want to take a hike around Nature Boardwalk, where you can get a great view of the Chicago skyline while spotting squirrels, birds, turtles, fish, and maybe even a beaver.

Get a look at the black-crowned night herons that nest above Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo every spring and summer. More than 500 birds are inhabiting the rookery right now and it’s a sight to see! These birds are why the Children’s Zoo is partially closed throughout the season, but kids can still climb on and explore Houston Family Play Treehouse inside and see otters, beavers, turtles, and more.

8. Stop at a mobile learning station (zoo carts!).

Volunteers and teens in the Malott Family Zoo Intern Program can be found around the zoo sharing more about animals, conservation, and the zoo’s conservation efforts around the world. You might encounter them at mobile learning stations such as the cool and tactile Where’s Wildlife? cart, designed to explore the wild animals that live alongside humans in the Tanzanian ecosystem.

Image by Violetta Dominek

9. Take a horticulture tour.

Whether you’re watching the day wane in spectacular fashion during one of the zoo’s themed Sunset Garden Tours or taking a self-guided tour of favorite trees suggested by Garden Explorer, you can learn about the plants that make up Lincoln Park Zoo’s accredited arboretum and botanic garden. During the peak summer months, view the dramatic herbaceous perennial hibiscuses, part of the zoo’s nationally accredited collection, or check out the native prairie plants at Nature Boardwalk.

Image by Violetta Dominek

10. Enjoy a behind-the-scenes experience.

Sign up for Malott Family Penguin Encounters, which take you behind the scenes right into the African penguin habitat so you can get a personal introduction to the amazing birds at Robert and Mayari Pritzker Penguin Cove. You can also take a Behind-the-Scenes Tour at Regenstein Small Mammal-Reptile House, visiting spaces like the room where animal diets are prepared and a walkway where endangered plant species thrive. These paid experiences support animal and plant care at the zoo and help keep the zoo free to all.

11. Become a member to enjoy special perks and benefits.

Lincoln Park Zoo runs on support from people like you—it is the nation’s only privately managed free-admission zoo and gets less than 20% of its funding from public sources such as the Chicago Park District. The rest of the money it needs for daily operations comes from members, donors, events, and guests. That’s why members are such an important part of the Lincoln Park Zoo family.

Members get perks like free parking, early access to camp registration, and discounts across the zoo. If you’re a member, your summer is sorted, as you get discounts on rides and events, reduced-price or free parking, a percentage off food and Gift Shop purchases, and even perks at several local restaurants. You’re also invited to special events such as the member-exclusive Super Zoo Picnic, coming on Friday, June 19, and Early Bird Member Mornings monthly through October. You even get reciprocal admission to other Association of Zoos and Aquariums member institutions, so you can visit zoos at a discount when you travel.

12. Use the App

To discover everything happening at the zoo when you’re here, and to navigate to food, restrooms, and your favorite animal in real-time, go to go.lpzoo.org. The zoo’s app is web-based, so you don’t have to download anything. However, you’ll be able to do all the things, from searching for animal information to navigating your own self-guided tours of animal buildings.